Profile For Amanda D.

I just finished watching that A&E documentary, The Killing Season, where they refer to the Highway Initiative database. Anyway, I rolled my eyes so hard at the episode on long-haul serial killers. There’s a part where the female documentary maker was interviewing a trucker and asked “what would happen to be me if I were out here alone?” And the guy says “You could be murdered, you could be gang-raped, it’s crazy out here.” He also said she was “dressed for sex” when wearing a full-coverage dress. They also claimed they hitchhiked with lots of truckers. Yeah, because drivers are going to risk their jobs to pick up random filmmakers that their insurance doesn’t cover.

I call BS and think the whole thing was staged. All the time I’ve been on the road with my husband, it’s boring. Nothing salacious has ever happened. I walk around alone at night, in shorts and tank tops etc and don’t get even a whistle. I don’t deny there’s shady stuff happening along the interstates, but who’s out there blowing the whistle on it? Truck drivers!

I had several concerns about my husband going into trucking, such as temperment fit, stress level for both of us, but I never worried much about cheating. Whatever fleeting thoughts I had about that were quickly squashed when I joined this board. By and large, the men here are a classy, upstanding and family-oriented bunch who just want a better life for their families. And the only cheating that gets talked about pertains to the logbook. Stick around here and maybe think about finding some better guy friends because it sounds like your current ones are making you paranoid about a good guy.

Lisa, I've spent time with my husband on the road, and between the isolation, the long hours and the physical fatigue, temptation isn't exactly falling into their laps. On the other hand, someone who is looking to cheat will find opportunity no matter how long the hours or isolating the job. But that applies for people who work office jobs and come home every night as well. Drivers can cheat in trucks, but office workers can cheat at their affair partner's place, hotels, cars, the office itself after hours. It comes down to a person's character. Do you think your fiancée has good character? It sounds like you may not.

The reason my husband went with them is because he was fired from Werner and was getting nowhere with the other big carriers. Before he decided to go with them, he really was torn because they are sketchy, for that matter he was thinking of getting out of trucking altogether but my job grant had not been renewed, expensive COBRA and he decided it was more important to take any job than wait for the right one.

We knew about the lack of health benefits going in but not the other stuff.

So yeah. Moral of the story, don't get fired and be in the position where you have to take shi**y and dangerous jobs.

The company is saying they paid the tax and there was just a clerical error. The sketchy part - the exact same thing happened to a different driver in a different state. So the company is clear but both MI and KY DOTs messed up? Riiiiight that's real believeable. 🙄😒

I just figured out they also classify as employees as 1099. Sounds like they might be doing this to inaccurately classify him as an independent contractor? They pay for his fuel, tolls and he gets paid weekly.

He's a company driver.

And Rick, everything you said was basically what I figured. I just wanted confirmation since my total experience in trucking has been my one month on the road with him and reading this board. Wish he would read this board too.

I already found a lawyer specializing in trucking issues and will call him ASAP.

Also, looking at all the paperwork today, the company is registered under both {Company Name} Express and {Company Name} Transport. Two different addresses, one a carrier and one a contractor. Is that sketchy?

So I've been with my husband OTR with the mom and pop company that offered him a job after the Werner firing thing. It's not going great. He actually doesn't have issues with his skills but he doesn't seem to have the best temperament for truck driving, plus the company is a bit lax about safety and regulations - which brings us to the latest drama...

Yesterday, after a difficult pickup in inner-city Detroit (involving backing across four lanes of traffic into the alley) he missed the turnoff at Pilot where he was planning to weigh and immediately hit a weigh station. He did get an overweight ticket, but the really bad thing - the fuel tax (IMTA or something) had not been paid and had been revoked before he even started at the company. They are charging him for it and the charge is a MISDEMEANOR. Another driver at the company got charged with the exact same thing, just in a different state. Paying taxes should be the company's responsibility, right? I can see the argument that he should've been more viligant about checking into that, but ultimately he's the company driver and not owner operator. A misdemeanor for this is a really big deal. I'm not even that worried about his trucking future at this point, because it's been nothing but drama, but plenty of non-trucking jobs ask about misdemeanors. Oh and hubby got a form from the inspector saying IMTA or whatever had been revoked right before he started. The company owner tried to tell him "revoked" means "renewed."

BTW, I am sorry if my tone sounds upset. I really appreciate this board and the honesty and "tough-love." I'm just confused and disappointed that trucking has not been the answer to our financial and insurance issues. It seemed so promising last spring when he was finishing up school and starting with Werner...

He got pulled over for it, so I think police intervention is the issue. But I wasnt there.